HHI - Harvard Humanitarian Initiative

The Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI) is a University-wide academic and research center in humanitarian crisis and leadership supported by Harvard University's Office of the Provost and based at the Department of Global Health and Population at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. 

The mission of the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI) is to conduct research and education on the practice of relieving human suffering in war and disaster by advancing the science and practice of humanitarian response worldwide.  HHI’s aim is to relieve human suffering in war and disaster by conducting interdisciplinary, practice-based research and education that can be used by scholars, policymakers, NGOs, and others to foster interdisciplinary collaboration in order to:

• Improve the effectiveness of humanitarian strategies for relief, protection, and prevention;

• Instill human rights principles and practices in these strategies; and

• Educate and train the next generation of humanitarian leaders.

HHI has major programs in four key thematic areas:  Populations in Crisis, Humanitarian Data and Technology, Disaster Resilience, and Humanitarian Policy and Evaluation. HHI has established substantive collaborations with NGOs, UN agencies, governments and universities to improve the quality, accountability, and effective of humanitarian aid in war, conflict and disaster.